


Cyclical

by GretchenSinister



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 18:54:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17792858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GretchenSinister/pseuds/GretchenSinister
Summary: Original Prompt: "I’m just curious - I’ve seen a lot of role reversals and character swaps, but what about this - Jack and Bunny switched. Instead of ignoring Jack (or just not being aware of him) the Man in the Moon appointed Jack as a Guardian the day he was reborn. And Bunny never became the Easter Bunny, though he’s certainly still a nature/spring spirit. And now the MiM wants Bunny to be the new guardian.How does that change things? What kind of character is Bunny, in a world where’s never been a protector of children, merely a bringer and guider of spring? Does Pitch’s plans change now that its Bunny - a much older spirit than Jack - who’s the newest threat to him?"The Guardians try to recruit Bunny, and a conversation with Sandy convinces him to help. Don’t have Pitch’s reaction, but I do have some implications about what kind of power hope has. Bunny is still old as fuck here, just like Sandy and Pitch. “Mere” is not a good descriptor of anything he does.





	Cyclical

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr 2/12/2014.

“I still think I should have stayed outside with the sleigh,” Jack says as he, North, Tooth, and Sandy make their way down a wide, mossy tunnel softly lit by shafts of sunlight bored through the rock over their heads.  
  
“Nonsense,” North replies, though he keeps his voice lower than usual. “How long can spirit of Spring and new life keep grudge?”  
  
Sandy turns around from his position at the front of the line and gives Jack a reassuring look, makes a spotlight over his head, and then an arrow pointing to himself.  _Let me do the talking._  
  
*  
  
They emerge into a wide, shallow valley, overflowing with sweet green life and more than jeweled with flowers of every shade, all in bud or blooming, but not one wilting. Underneath the verdant growth worn and broken edges of stone peek out, as if the green is mildly, yet definitively, showing the power possible when fragrant breeze and soft rain and gentle sunlight combine with a million million tender shoots.  
  
The air is heavy with the scent of flowers and something impossible to define, but what really makes it difficult to breathe here is the thick atmosphere of alien magic. Jack hasn’t felt anything like this since his visits to the Guardians’ homes in the few days of his existence before he was officially a Guardian, and he hadn’t expected to feel anything like it again. Well. At least it was clear that Bunny had the power it took to be a Guardian.  
  
Sandy holds up one of his hands to stop the others from moving any further into the Warren, and once they’ve stopped, taps one of his small feet in a particular rhythm on an oddly bare patch of ground.  
  
They wait in silence for a few moments, and then, with no warning, Bunny is before them. Even standing back warily, he’s clearly much taller than any of them save North, powerfully muscled, and wearing only his own fur. His ears swivel as he looks from one to the other, before his gaze finally settles on Sandy. “Greetings,” he says flatly. “I never expected to see you all here.” He crouches down and asks Sandy: “What’s this about, then?”  
  
When North answers, Jack sees Bunny frown.  
  
“You have been chosen as Guardian!” he exclaims. “The Man in the Moon told us that  _you_  are newest Guardian of Childhood! Everything is prepared to welcome you—”  
  
“No,” Bunny says. “Tell him I don’t want it. What could have gotten into him? Asking me to be a Guardian?  _Now?_  It’s the beginning of Spring! I don’t have  _time_. And even if I did—I’m not a Guardian of Childhood. I’m a nature spirit. A spirit of Spring. I like human children, sure, but not any more than any other young creatures. I’m solitary, and I don’t keep ledger books.”  
  
“Bunny, is not just about making lists! When you are Guardian, you will find your center, the principle that governs your power—”  
  
“And mine would have nothing to do with children and the Man in the Moon would have to admit he made a mistake, which doesn’t sound like a good thing to me.”  
  
Sandy nods, his expression rueful.  
  
“Bunny,” Tooth says, “While it’s true that I don’t think the Man in the Moon is wrong, we might have misinterpreted what he said. But we still need your help—if not as a Guardian, then as our ally. Pitch is back, and the Man in the Moon said we needed you.”  
  
“Pitch?” Bunny lowers himself back down to Sandy’s level. “Can you tell me anything about this? What did the Man in the Moon really say?”  
  
Sandy signs quickly to Bunny for several seconds while Bunny nods, then pauses. His next symbols form slowly, and none of the other Guardians have ever seen anything like them before. They look astronomical, or maybe mathematical, and whatever they mean causes Bunny to inhale sharply.  
  
“Cyclical? I guess that has to do with what I do, but why is the cycle tied to—oh.  _Her_. And you’re sure you know how it’s going to play out?”  
  
Sandy looks down and clenches his fists, before looking back up at Bunny with a shrug and nervous grin.  
  
Bunny gives a low whistle. “That’s risky.” More symbols. “But you think with my help…though you don’t know why yet…it’ll all work out? And if I don’t it definitely won’t? Sandy, this is…all right, fine.” He stands and looks at the other Guardians. “I’ll help you deal with Pitch. But not as a Guardian. It’ll take a lot to convince me that’s the place I should be, and I don’t think anything in the next few days is going to do it.”  
  
“Never say never!” North says. “Anyway, offer will never go away, and we have all the time in the world.”  
  
“Sure,” Bunny says, casting a worried glance at Sandy.


End file.
